New Zealand International Film Festival's constellation of Māhutonga lights the way to Aotearoa’s storytellers, shining through the Southern Skies via the Southern Cross. Scroll down for a vibrant selection of films you do not want to miss!
GRACE A Prayer For Peace (2025)
Director: Gaylene Preston
A portrait of one of Aotearoa’s greatest living artists by one of our greatest documentary filmmakers. You should expect something special, and that’s what you get.
Director: Simon Ogston
Two very different MMA fighters from the Far North seek glory inside the ring and to inspire their community in this action-packed and absorbing fly-on-the-wall documentary about small town heroes with big hearts.
Notes from a Fish (2025)
Director: Tom Levesque& Romy Hooper
An aspiring novelist finds inspiration gurgling down the drain when his unconventional muse, a tropical fish, goes missing in this darkly absurd romp through the mean-ish streets of Auckland’s inner suburbs.
TOITŪ Visual Sovereignty (2025)
Director: Chelsea Winstanley
Unprecedented insight into the curation of the Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art exhibition reveals the struggle for Māori artistic sovereignty within the structures of Aotearoa New Zealand’s cultural institutions.
The Weed Eaters (2025)
Director: Callum Devlin
Cannibalism, murder and betrayal are on the table in this riotous NZ horror comedy. Four holidaying friends come across a strain of weed that gives them the most extreme case of the munchies ever recorded.
Went Up the Hill (2024)
Director: Samuel Van Grinsven
An unsettling, sinister slow-burn thriller, Samuel Van Grinsven unites rising star Dacre Montgomery with Phantom Thread’s Vicky Krieps and New Zealand’s own Sarah Peirse for a supernatural chiller like no other.
Ngā Whanaunga: Aotearoa New Zealand’s Best - Programme One & Programme Two
Ngā Whanaunga: Aotearoa New Zealand’s Best — brings together the most compelling short films from across the motu, honouring both legacy and innovation. From a pool of 88 submissions, 13 exceptional finalists have been handpicked by talented curators, promising a showcase that’s bold, diverse, and deeply resonant. It’s a cinematic journey through the heart of New Zealand — one story at a time.